Dahlia season

I love this time of year - the long hot summer days have slowly petered out and the garden here has more plants in flower than at any other time of year. While I have only a few varieties of Dahlias, after seeing these beauties today in Bendigo's Rosalind Gardens I might have to order a few more colours and varieties for next year's crop.

Indigo Leaf

A design of leaves picked from my garden and painted in indigo watercolour tones.

Papery Goodness - Blog Hop

Aside from the spacious rooms and rambling garden, one of the things I have most enjoyed about moving back to the country and into my great grandparent's farmhouse has been the large stash of ephemeral papers and early 20th century books at my disposal. A few months ago I started painting on the deliciously thick parchment-y paper found on the inside covers of long forgotten novels and texts; the watercolour paint just sinks in giving a lovely softly mottled effect.

In one of the farm sheds, my great grandfather and granddad kept these rather unique hanging filing systems. 

Everything from old Cheque Book stubs, hardware shop accounts, livestock sales and purchases from the local haberdasher were speared onto a wire and suspended from the rafters.

I have gone through a few of the dusty and bug eaten stacks, but my favourite finds are the decorative bills and accounts from the early 20th century with elegant hand written script. I have scanned in some of my favourite pieces and incorporated them into my stationery designs.

My shoe box filled with receipts for the accountant doesn't have any of the appeal of these aged papers!

The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper! Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight. And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paper lovers. Find out more here. 

Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D'Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed / Michelle Reynolds / Lisa Rivas / Angee Robertson / Natalie Ryan / Aisling Ryan / Elisabet Sapena / Kyrrha Sevco / Jamie Sprague / Elizabeth Steele / Terri Stephens / Juniper Stokes / Mary Tanana / Maike Thoma / Linda Tieu / Gabrielle Treanor / Tammy Tutterow / Deborah Velasquez / Jordan Vinograd Kim / Cat Whipple / Brooke Witt / Katie Wood / Amelia Woodbridge

Leafy love

The fresh yet timeless combination of blue and white is a favourite of mine, especially for kitchen and tabletop design. I created this leaf pattern with watercolour and coloured pencil.

Early Autumn blooms

After a long hot summer (and a wandering ram with the munchies) the flower garden is slowly moving into Autumn mode.